Kamil Terczynski

What year did you start tattooing? I graduated from art school back in Poland. Shortly after that I moved to Krakow, where I got the offer from my friend Robert Lypik to work in his tattoo studio drawing projects for some extra money. I started to do it during the nights, after my shifts in a supermarket, and got really into it. I started my apprenticeship shortly after that, in Robert’s studio, RobTattoo, in Krakow. It was 2001. He was the person who put the machine in my hand and taught the basics, mostly about black-and-gray. I stayed there for three years; it was a very valuable experience. in 2004, I moved to London. Fortunately, I got a job at Jeff Ortega’s studio. At this stage he was taking over Evil From the Needle from Bugs, so I had that luck to be under the influence of them both. That’s when I got interested in color.

Do you have any special training? I didn’t have any special training; I just invest a huge amount of my time in this job to get more and more experience.

What conventions have you worked at? Have you won any awards? What are some of your best convention memories? My very first convention was the one in Berlin in 2006. Then I attended a few more conventions in Europe, like Milan, Rome—where I won best of show—Krakow, Amsterdam, and Brussels. Before that, I’d started to work at the conventions in London. Now I am regularly traveling to Australia—at the Sydney Tattoo Convention last year I won Best Female—and the states, for the New York Convention, and this year I was at the Las Vegas Convention. In fact, over all these years, there have been so many conventions around the world that I can’t remember all of them. I also won lots of awards back in Krakow.

What inspires you as an artist? I take lots of inspiration from the movies, books, etc. especially lately, I’m so into comic books. But it’s really just everyday observations. I’m watching nature, like flowers, people’s faces, animals, and inspire myself; sometimes i don’t even notice that. I also pay attention to fine art, which I just adore. Polish symbolism and art deco are my favorites.

What sets you apart from other artists? When I’m working on a piece I am always asking myself how it’s going to look in the future. It’s extra hard in this particular style to make it stay sharp and nice for a long time, as there are not many outlines. I’m trying to make sure every single piece I do is good looking not only after it’s done, but also in, let’s say, 20 years’ time.

What other mediums do you work in? I graduated from art school with stone sculpture as a main subject. I don’t have much time now, as I’m really dedicated to tattooing, but from time to time I’m finding a few evenings to stay at home and paint something, or make a small sculpture just for myself. I consider it more of a hobby now.

What kind of tattoos do you look forward to doing? It’s a hard question because every time when I’m about to start a new piece, I get excited about it in some way. I invest a lot of time to find the best references and make the best project I can. I guess it’s just how I am. I enjoy everything related to graphic novels, comic books, like superheroes, and the movies as well.

Before someone gets a tattoo what advice do you give them? Make sure you know exactly what you want, and choose the artist wisely.

Is there a tattoo that you haven’t done yet that you are dying to do? I can’t wait to tattoo my son on his 18th birthday. I’m dying to do it because I won’t get a chance to know what it’ll be in the next 18 years!

You are sponsored by ink company Intenze. Does using their ink in your work help better your practice? I’m really happy that I got a chance to join the Intenze family. I’ve been using Intenze inks way before the sponsorship began, and I have to admit that I love the artist series. I find the new colors to be very helpful, and I truly enjoy using them.